Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Inman's
debut sci-fi/fantasy novel AGELESS asks the question -- If you could live
forever, would you?

Alessandra Sartori wasn't given that choice as a child, but
she is forced to live with the consequences. Inman follows her struggles across
the decades from 1943 to 2025 as she endeavors to evade the sinister forces
arrayed against her when her secret becomes known. Brisk pacing keeps the
reader engaged. The author’s willingness to delve into the darker aspects of
mortality creates an undercurrent of menace and the unexpected ending provides
a chilling climax.

Monday, January 16, 2017

Lynn Sanders’ story, DANCING WITH TEX, is
based on the special relationship between George Archibald and Tex, an
endangered Whooping Crane. Sanders
traces Tex’s life from hatching through years of study at the International
Crane Foundation in Wisconsin where she was cared for by George. His
understanding of crane behavior inspired him to “dance” with Tex in imitation
of crane bonding rituals and his success, paired with the skills of crane
biologists, eventually led to Tex successfully producing an offspring. That
chick went on to father many others and aided in protecting the Whooping Crane
for future generations.

Woven through the
story of Tex is a subtle reminder that everyone has the power to make a
difference and create a world that is a better place simply by making the choice
to help.

Clear, concise
language, simple sentences, and vocabulary augmented with a helpful glossary for
unfamiliar terms makes the story accessible for young readers. Colorful
illustrations provide beautiful visuals to further highlight the important
story points.An Author’s note,
Questions and Answers, and Discussion Guide provide additional support for
readers.

Friday, January 13, 2017

Saturday, February 18th! Save the Date. This is a truly fun event for a very worthy cause. Tickets are now available. I'm looking forward to meeting readers and sharing thoughts. Hope to see you there.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Abeel effortlessly transports
readers from life with the beat poets of Paris in the 1950's to the New York
scene of the 1960s as her three heroines break the bonds of convention, that
said marriage and motherhood where a woman's proper choice, in pursuit of their
artistic dreams. Buoyed by their friendship, they find strength in their shared
struggle despite the cost they must pay for their determination. Gripping, witty,
and funny. Readers will find themselves smiling and nodding in understanding
with every page turn.

“Erica
Abeel IS a ‘Wild Girl’— she lived the life, these are her friends, and this is
an insider’s peek into that world.” —Kevin Kwan, author ofCrazy Rich Asians”

Can you offer us a couple of insights into
what makes a “Wild Girl” wild?

In the
context of my novel, “wild girls” is a phrase used by the heroine Brett’s
professor to express his fears for her and her two free spirited
classmates. The friends want to live as
sexual beings in a culture that zaps women who express that aspect of
themselves. They’re putting themselves
in harm’s way, the professor warns; “these young men don’t value what’s freely
offered.” He compares them to acrobats
who leap through a ring of fire, expecting to be caught on the other end. The question hangs – and repeats itself
throughout the novel: who will catch these “wild girls” on the other end?

In the 50s
you married the first person you slept with.My “wild girls” scoff at that.So what makes a “wild girl” wild in my novel is the pursuit of sexual
adventures during a fiercely puritanical era -- a leap through the ring of fire
– and the ambition to make a life in the arts at a time when marriage and
family is the be-all and end-all for women.

How does your career as a writer influence
other areas of your life and vice versa?

As John
Irving said in “The World According to Garp,” when you’re in the midst of
writing a novel, “Everything applies.”
While I was hammering out “Wild Girls,” I’d often pick up the newspaper and spot some detail in
a story that’s related to a character or theme in the novel.

No one
is safe from us writers! Everything is
material, a writer once said – was it Nora Ephron? We schlurp up character traits, mannerisms,
smells, voice timbre, details of dress – the whole spectrum of the seen and
unseen world -- and stick them in our novels. Writers are ghouls, Julia, the
Boston blueblood of the trio of friends, says in the first section. A dear departed friend of mine was
inseparable from her ratty fur hat. That
hat now belongs to my character Julia in “Wild Girls.”

I also
often discover events -- such as the recent show in Paris on the Beats and
Allen Ginsberg -- that reference the novel’s world. The other day I zoomed in on a theme common
to both Sarah Jessica Parker’s new HBO show “Divorce” and “Wild Girls.” Both feature heroines who set forth with
grand artistic dreams, but then are sidetracked by financial realities (like a
husband’s failing career) into more mundane pursuits. It’s an old story, I know, but it’s all in
the telling, right?

To the
second part of your question I’d reply that as a writer, I often feel I’m more
an observer than participant. When I’m
not writing – like now, when I’m getting the word out about “Wild Girls” – I
feel guilty and a little unfocused.

The
writer’s life can be hazardous. People
you know are sometimes convinced you’ve stuck them – or their story -- in your
book, even when that’s not the case.
Characters are often composites of different folks, real or
imagined. So, a cautionary note: you
have to be willing to offend people, even lose friends. With any luck, the bad feelings will blow
over.

What do you do when you are not
writing?

Writing is
so demanding, it’s essential to kick back at the end of the work day. So, I head out to the gym or take a great
Pilates class. Summers I play tennis and
do long-distance swimming in the bays around East Hampton. And there’s always, happily, a glass or two
of Rose. My very favorite non-writing
activities involve hanging with my two young grandsons, who are endlessly
amusing. I’m in charge of the boys’
cultural activities. I’ve been taking
the older one to the theater since he was in diapers. He’s already a writer.

What led you to write the book?

Anger
was a big motivating source -- anger at the damage inflicted on young women by guys who are
taught there are the nice girls you marry, and the others you “use” for
sex. Two of my heroines become severely
damaged by sexual encounters that derail them for years. In all kinds of ways the 50s was a punishing
time for women. But I also wanted to
celebrate the daring and guts of kickass characters who refuse to be limited by
the restrictions they’re born into.
“Wild Girls” showcases the resilience, wiliness, and life force of
women.

What
would you like readers to take from it?

I hope they’ll identify with my characters’
ability to reinvent themselves and “follow their bliss,” in Joseph Campbell’s
famous phrase. Though these women battle
the rigid rules of the 50s, I’m hoping readers will recognize their own
struggles today – now that there are almost too
many choices -- to forge a path of their own making. And I’d like readers to laugh at the past
absurdities that I mock (such as the self-disgust women were encouraged to feel
about their own bodies).

What
are your current/future projects?

I’m starting a new novel, a comic,
satirical take on feminism in the early 70s, set among a group of
writer/activists presided over by a Betty Friedan-like character. I also continue to review films and interview
directors.

Your biography mentions you love to write about warrior women who lived against
the grain before the upheavals of the 60s. That’s a very specific topic. Why
does it have such a strong appeal for you?

Partly the topic appeals to me for
its dramatic value. My characters fight
for the right to live as they choose when everything around them offers only a
single choice. Built into my subject is
conflict and drama. The topic also
allows me to foreground female feistiness and strength. My characters experience the world as resistance, much as in 19th
century novels, where a hero must make his way in a society primed to advance
only the rich and well-born. In “Wild
Girls,” it’s heroines – not heroes – who make their way in a world mobilized to
bind and limit them.

What challenges did you face in
creating this manuscript?

Understanding,
through many drafts, what to take out.
Initially, I had a 4th woman whose story I was keen on
telling – and it may yet surface in a different book – but which diluted the
dramatic force of my other 3 heroines’s narratives. So the 4th character hit the
cutting room floor. After the initial
draft, I constantly wrestled with the challenge of how to streamline a complex,
multi-pronged story that spans decades so it wouldn’t become a baggy monster.

What book(s)/author(s) have influenced your writing and how?

I’ve
always loved the 19th century French novelists, such as Stendhal and
“The Red and the Black” and Balzac. I
like the paradigm of a young hero – in my case, a heroine – setting out to
conquer the world – or “pursue happiness,” in Stendhals phrase. “Brideshead Revisited” by Evelyn Waugh has
long been an obsession; my 2008 novel “Conscience Point” riffs on its love
triangle. I admire sections of
“Atonement” by Ian McEwan, and will read anything by F. Scott Fitzgerald and
James Salter.

What are the most important elements that you want to bring to
your writing?

I want to bring humor
and wit to the story, so that even in grotesque or punishing situations the
reader will laugh. Or at least
smile. I also aspire to make the reader
cry, which of course is hoping for a lot.
I try to fashion characters the reader can empathize with, even when
they’re shooting themselves in the foot.

Talk
about revising and/or suggestions about revising for upcoming writers.

You have to learn to be your own editor. If something you’ve written doesn’t grab you,
it likely won’t grab the reader either.
Be prepared to chisel and cut – “kill your darlings” if necessary. Keep focused on forward momentum, and if a
scene doesn’t promote that, consider getting rid of it.

What's one
additional piece of advice about writing or publishing you'd like to pass on to
readers and writers?

Keep a question hanging fire throughout the
novel that the reader wants answered or resolved and that will keep her
reading. Learn to become inured to
rejection and naysayers – or use negative
reactions to improve your work. Never
give up.

Anything
else you'd like readers to know about you and/or your book?

I hope they’ll be inspired by
it and have a good laugh over the funnier scenes.And enjoy their time with my characters, who
have been great company for me over five years.

Monday, January 9, 2017

Animal Planet Farm Animalsprovides young readers
with a chance to explore the world of domesticated animals. Of course you’ll
find the familiar horses, cows, chickens, goats, and sheep one would expect to
find on a farm. But the book ranges wider to offer youngsters a look at Swiss
sheep, Texas Longhorn Cattle, alpacas, and honey bees as well some of the wild
denizens of such as spiders, swallows and owls. Additional topics include the
workers familiar on the farm from veterinarians to border collies.

Like the other books in the series, the animal sections are interspersed with thematic units with
specific tabs such as Where They Live, How They Live, Vista (showing animals in
their environment), Big Data (facts and figures), Animal Gallery (highlighting
similarities and differences) and so on. Stunning action-filled photographs,
informative notes, colorful maps and charts make for easy access to information
and will delight both youngsters and adults as they explore the amazing diversity
of wild life on our amazing planet.

The Gingerbread Cowboy Book Trailer

NEW RELEASE!

A Picture Book for young readers

New Book Trailer

MONTY

BUY A BOOK -- HELP A DOG!Meet Monty -- A remarkable rescue dog with an international following. From his guardians to his doctors, Monty's loving spirit captures hearts with an I-can-do-it grin and a wagging tail.

Proceeds from every sale of Monty's book go to animal rescue organizations.

The Gingerbread Cowboy

The Gingerbread Cowboy

Autographed Copies of The Gingerbread Cowboy are now available online at OutWest Marketing.

REVIEW SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

As an author, I know how personal the writing experience is and I understand how much hard work and heart goes into the creation of a story. I only publish positive reviews so I am very selective when it comes to choosing books to appear on this site.

Before making an inquiry please look at books already reviewed here to get a feel for the types of books that interest me.

To submit a book for review: email your query or press release to jsquiresbooks@ca.rr.com. Include the following information: Cover jpeg, Title, Author, ISBN, Publisher, publication date, number of pages, genre. a brief (about 100 words) summary, book awards or reviews, author bio (50 words or less), and contact information: email, website, blog.

Due to the volume of review requests that I receive, I only respond to inquiries that interest me. If you don't hear from me within 30 days, it is probably safe to assume I won't be in touch.

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About Me

I began my career writing for regional and national magazines then shifted my interest to children's books. My picture book, "The Gingerbread Cowboy," published by HarperCollins, was the Arizona Governor's 2007 First Grade Book.
I belong to SCBWI and Women Writing the West.

Author Visits

Coming Events

2018

January 13 Celebration of Local Authors - 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM Old Town Newhall Library, 24500 Main Street Santa Clarita, CA. This is always a fun event with dozens of authors in many different genres on hand to introduce you to their work, share their experiences in panel discussions, and answer questions. Come discover a new favorite author or book!

February 3 Simi Valley Library Annual Book Festival. I'll be the featured author. I'll offer a presentation, and books will be available to purchase and have signed. More details to follow.